Google Maps Goes Offline in Major Mobile Outage

Lead: Google Maps experienced a widespread outage on Thursday, September 11, 2025, preventing the Android and iOS apps from loading maps or providing directions for over two hours, as users around the globe encountered connection errors.

Nut Graf: The disruption, which began mid-day Pacific Time, stalled millions of mobile users relying on Google Maps for navigation and local searches. With more than 4,000 problem reports logged, Google confirmed an incident affecting its Maps and Navigation SDKs and worked to restore service rapidly.

Outage Timeline

  • 11:12 AM PT: Users start reporting failures to load map tiles, listings and directions on mobile apps.
  • 2:12 PM ET: Google’s Status Dashboard acknowledges an issue with the Maps SDK for Android, iOS and the Navigation SDK.
  • 1:30 PM PT: Android devices begin regaining full map functionality; cached areas initially load rough outlines.
  • 1:45 PM PT: iOS app still shows “Can’t reach server” errors and missing bottom navigation bar; browser access remains a viable workaround.

Affected Services

  • Maps SDK for Android and iOS
  • Navigation SDK
  • Mobile app features: map tiles, place listings, turn-by-turn directions
  • Web access via maps.google.com remained operational.

User Impact and Workarounds

  • Drivers and commuters unable to view live traffic or receive route guidance.
  • Third-party apps embedding Google Maps APIs reported blank map frames or error messages.
  • Users on iPhone forced to switch to browser version at maps.google.com for temporary relief.

Google’s engineering teams continued monitoring post-incident and have not reported related disruptions to Search, Gmail or other Workspace services. The company advised users to clear app cache and restart the Maps app if issues persist.